"A friend who came over did a close search of the yard and found it just over the fence in a neighbor's yard in an area not easily visible," he said. "It looked like it could have been in a fight with a coyote."

Princess was found with blood near her mouth and face, Phillips said, though she did not suffer any obvious signs of trauma. She has already been buried, he said.

The couple live next to green space along Interstate 5, "enough to support an urban coyote," Phillips said. Several neighbors had also reported seeing multiple coyotes in the streets around their house, he said.

The Waltons last heard their dog bark around 3 a.m. Monday, while
they watched television, unable to sleep. "We assumed she was out
there enjoying the night air," Evelyn, 73, said Tuesday.

They initially suspected their dog was stolen. The sheriff's office classified the incident as theft in the first degree.

Princess favored Jerry, who is battling bone marrow cancer. The dog
lifted Jerry's spirits and often would sit beside his chair waiting for a
pat, his wife said.